Redknapp England job boost from FA
ENGLAND chiefs have given further credence to Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp’s hopes of becoming the next boss of the national team.
Redknapp, who guided Spurs to Champions League qualification for the first time in their history last season, is a leading contender to succeed Fabio Capello when he steps down after Euro 2012. Football Association general secretary Alex Horne insists it is not a given that Capello’s replacement will be English, but admits Redknapp (right) is a frontrunner.
“Harry Redknapp is a great manager,” said Horne. “Tottenham are playing great football and to qualify well for the Champions League [knockout stage] from a position of being fourth favourites in the group is huge testimony to that. I would expect Harry to make a long list. It may not be a very long list. He [Capello] is there until 2012 which gives me 18, 19 months to prepare for that process.”
In the wake of England’s demise at the World Cup, Club England director Adrian Bevington suggested the FA would name an Englishman as Capello’s successor – but Horne refused to rule out appointing a foreigner.
“It is not a policy decision that they would be English,” he said. “We thought about this long and hard when we got Fabio Capello. “We got the right man for the job and that is what we will do again.”